Book Reviews Culture 2 - African American Literature
Harrison, Vashti. Big. Little, Brown and Company. New York; Boston. 2023. ISBN-13: 978-0-316-35322-9
Summary: A young black girl feels great in who she is and what she does. She walks confidently through the world, but the people around her offer negative comments in the various parts of her life. At first, these negative comments about her appearance cause a negative reaction to her emotionally and physically and mentally; however, she realizes that she is “too big” for those negative words, and as “big” as she is, there is no room for ugly comments as such! She learns to tune those out, which helps her be aware of her own emotions and strength to keep doing what she wants and being who she is confidently!
Cultural Analysis: This book is a perfect depiction of how some black people aren’t ashamed of who they are or what they look like until they step out into society. They know and feel that they are normal and happy, as they should be, up until someone in the outside world makes a comment about their appearance, or how they’re different from others, or they simply start treating them differently than they do white people. A lot of colored people, whether black or brown, can recount the specific moments or comments that others made that made them feel insecure about themselves or their culture or their appearance, when before that, they didn’t feel anything was different in a negative way.
Reviews: A Young Black girl who is told she is too big learns which labels to keep.
When she was a baby, being a “big girl” was good. But at a certain point, getting bigger becomes tinged with negativity. Adults are frustrated with the girl because of her size. Other children tease her. On the playground and in ballet, where she used to feel joyous and free, the girl is humiliated. On wordless spreads, all alone, the girl fills the tightly constricted pages, as if trapped by their borders. She lets her feelings out in tears that form a puddle of words—the criticisms of others as well as more positive ones: imaginative, creative, compassionate. Finally, she is able to see clearly, and she decides “to make more space for herself” by pushing the boundaries of the page in a powerful fold-out spread. After that, she knows how to separate the words that do and don’t belong to her and what to do with them. Textured illustrations in a soft, predominantly pink palette endear the protagonist to readers, while spare, carefully crafted text delivers an important message of self-acceptance and combating anti-fat bias that never feels preachy or overdone. Bestselling creator Harrison has produced another classic that belongs on every child’s shelf—this is one that will nurture little ones and help them to see the beauty in themselves.
A healing balm with the power to make the world a bit kinder. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-9)
Kirkus Reviews
Connections: People tend to make comments to kids at such a young age, and it’s worse when it comes from the very own adults!These very comments can hold young kids back and make them doubt themselves at a young age. One of the most important things we can teach young children who are minorities or have a different cultural background is to be strong and confident and proud of who they are, so that, like the little girl in the book, they won’t let words affect them from outsiders.
Mckissack, Patricia C. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Goin’ Somewhere Special. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing Division. New York, New York. 2001. ISBN 0-689-81885-8.
Summary: A young girl tries to make her way to her “Safe Place,” while facing challenges and obstacles put in place by society through segregation at the time of Jim Crow as. Some of the challenges she faces are not being able to sit on certain areas of the bus, certain benches in the park, or be in certain places. However, she finds her inner voice of her Mama Frances and finds the courage to finally arrive at her “Safe Place,” which is the Public Library, with the sign that says “All Are Welcome.”
Cultural Analysis: The verbiage used throughout the book sticks true to the normal and natural way of speaking for black people, especially older generations such as her grandma, Mama Frances. Some of that language mentioned was “reckon,” “hold yo’ head up and act like you b’long to somebody,” “. Household chores of cooking with grandma is a tradition that most people of color have experienced at some point in their life, creating such strong, fond memories. Attire of the culture: the girls wear the dresses, sunday’s best, and the sun hats, and the black shiny shoes with the white crew socks.
Reviews: In a story that will endear itself to children’s librarians and, for that matter, all library lovers, ’Tricia Ann begs her grandmother to be allowed to go alone to Someplace Special.
Mama Frances acquiesces, sending her off with instructions: “ ‘And no matter what, hold yo’ head up and act like you b’long to somebody.’ ” ’Tricia Ann’s special place is not revealed until the end, but on the way there, the humiliating racism she encounters on the city bus, in the park, and in a downtown hotel almost causes her to give up. “ ‘Getting to Someplace Special isn’t worth it,’ she sobbed.” When she recalls her grandmother’s words: “ ‘You are somebody, a human being—no better, no worse than anybody else in this world,’ ” she regains the determination to continue her journey, in spite of blatant segregation and harsh Jim Crow laws. “ Public Library: All Are Welcome” reads the sign above the front door of Someplace Special; Mama Frances calls it “a doorway to freedom.” Every plot element contributes to the theme, leaving McKissack’s autobiographical work open to charges of didacticism. But no one can argue with its main themes: segregation is bad, learning and libraries are good. Pinkney’s trademark watercolors teem with realistically drawn people, lush city scenes, and a spunky main character whose turquoise dress, enlivened with yellow flowers and trim, jumps out of every picture. A lengthy author’s endnote fills in the background for adults on McKissack’s childhood experiences with the Nashville Public Library. This library quietly integrated all of its facilities in the late 1950s, and provided her with the story’s inspiration.
A natural for group sharing; leave plenty of time for the questions and discussion that are sure to follow. (Picture book. 5-9)
Kirkus Reviews
Connections: a young girl trying to navigate the ways of the world, the rules that society has put in place at the time with the Jim Crow laws, and how hard it is for her to understand why such segregation exists in her time; equally difficult, the adults in her life face the burden of explaining to her that while those rules are set in place, they must not dictate how she walks and carries herself and believes in herself. She is wrapped up with love and encouragement and support so that she is able to carry herself proudly with her head held high.
Myers, Walter Dean. Monster. Amistad, May 2001. ISBN-13: 978-0064407311
Summary: Written in a movie/screenplay style, Steve Harmon is sharing the story of how he ended up in jail in Manhattan. He takes us throughout the entire trial, cutting back and forth to flashbacks of his memories that stand out to him in jail and how they led him here and to the current present trial he experienced. Throughout the entire book, he keeps mentioning that people see him and treat him as if he were a “monster,” and even though Steve is found not-guilty, he struggles with convincing himself that people don’t see him as one.
Cultural Analysis: “voices are black or hispanic.” “he is thin, brown skin.” Since the beginning of the book, Steve states that the prosecutor, Petrocelli, labels him a “Monster.” He thinks this as he looks in the mirror of the jail cell. Culturally, a lot of black people have been labeled and named such degrading, disrespectful nicknames, names, slurs, etc. Steve, like many black people, has a hard time understanding why he’d be labeled that way. Unfortunately, all this name calling of “monster,” leads Steve to obsess with the name, as he writes it over and over again in his book. Thankfully, O’Brien, Steve’s lawyer, encourages him to believe in himself. This book breaks barriers of a stereotypical black character: Steve is smart and literary. His brain works creatively through his trial experience, his words spilling into his book through a movie/film/play style. Another barrier that opposes typical black character is that his father attended college. Oftentimes, black characters have a “dead beat dad,” or simply an absent one. Steve, though, has a father who encourages and supports him through this terrible experience, even shows emotions and expresses his feelings to his son.
The statement that O’Brien makes emphasizes that even the accused have a right to justice until proven guilty. Historically, so many black people were lynched, beaten, jailed, and brutally killed all because of allegations and accusations, without being properly tried or heard. Thankfully, times are a bit better now when it comes to that, although we still have work to do as a society when it comes to stereotyping black people. O’Brien tells him herself that it’s difficult for the jury to see him as not guilty, for he “is a young, black male, and that’s all they need to know.” O’Brien is such a strong fighter for Steve, always encouraging him to lift up his face and his spirits, and that “If you give up, they’ll give up on you.”
Reviews: “In a riveting novel from Myers (At Her Majesty’s Request, 1999, etc.), a teenager who dreams of being a filmmaker writes the story of his trial for felony murder in the form of a movie script, with journal entries after each day’s action.
Steve is accused of being an accomplice in the robbery and murder of a drug store owner. As he goes through his trial, returning each night to a prison where most nights he can hear other inmates being beaten and raped, he reviews the events leading to this point in his life. Although Steve is eventually acquitted, Myers leaves it up to readers to decide for themselves on his protagonist’s guilt or innocence.
The format of this taut and moving drama forcefully regulates the pacing; breathless, edge-of-the-seat courtroom scenes written entirely in dialogue alternate with thoughtful, introspective journal entries that offer a sense of Steve’s terror and confusion, and that deftly demonstrate Myers’s point: the road from innocence to trouble is comprised of small, almost invisible steps, each involving an experience in which a “positive moral decision” was not made. (Fiction. 12-14)
Kirkus Reviews
Connections: In one of Steve’s flashabacks, it takes us back to a time when he and his friends were sitting around together talking about struggling to make ends meet, financially, talking about cutting welfare, and anything else that makes life easier. One character even suggests bringing back slavery to help them get things they need in their life like food and shelter and money, etc. This topic is something I mentioned in my discussion post: that a lot of black people in poverty have a huge amount of years of disadvantage than white people do in life. Black people were held back from job opportunities, financial opportunities, and educational opportunities. So when they are illiterate, or uneducated, or drug addicts, or unemployed, their generational disadvantage has somehow played a role in the outcome of their lives in comparison to white people, who have years of head start due to the oppression they caused. Another connection in the book is when it comes down to it, everyone watches out for themselves and does what’s best for them, as we see in Zinzi, trying to cut a deal and we have to decide whether he is lying or not. As a young, black man, he tries to not look weak in jail. He tries to put up a tough front in order to avoid being beat up or sexually assaulted. Father and son have a moment of emotions and share feelings with each other.
Woodson, Jacqueline. Brown Girl Dreaming. Nancy Paulsen Books, October 11, 2016. ISBN ISBN-13: 978-0147515827
Summary: Written with a unique twist of rhyme and verse, Jacqueline Woodson reflects on her life story and experiences living during a time period when black people were still trying to navigate their way around racism and discrimination in New York. She poetically narrates how she was able to learn to cope and overcome these challenges and find her way through literacy and learning.
Cultural Analysis: Something that highlights the importance of perseverance in her culture and her black relatives is when her mom advises her, “A moment when you walk into a room and no one is like you, but think of william woodson, and you’ll be alright.” the strength that generations before them fought for. I love the short speech her dad gives their kids: “Never gonna be a Woodson that sits in the back of the bus. Never gonna be a Woodson that has to ‘yes sir,’ ‘no sir’ to white people. Never gonna be a Woodson made to look down on the ground.” Or the strength in her mom’s words when she says “we’re as good as anybody.” Her parents, always trying to reaffirm their pride in their skin color and culture, and worth. Oftentimes, black people were made to feel worthless, but this book shows the many values and virtues that people have, no matter their skin color. The fact that the adults in this book had no choice but to keep on moving through life and keep their pain on the back burner shows that they have overcome so much throughout history.
Review: The choice to make the book a verse novel made sense in the context of Ms. Woodson’s other novels. Verse novels are at their best when they justify their form. A verse novel that’s written in verse simply because it’s the easiest way to tell a long story in a simple format often isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. Fortunately, in the case of Ms. Woodson the choice makes infinite sense. Young Jackie is enamored of words and their meanings. The book isn’t told in the first person, but when we consider that she is both subject and author then it’s natural to suspect that the verse best shows the lens through which Jackie, the child, sees the world.
It was while reading the book that I got the distinct sense that this was far more than a personal story. The best memoirs, fictionalized or otherwise, are the ones that go beyond their immediate subjects and speak to something greater than themselves. Ostensibly, brown girl dreaming is just the tale of one girl’s journey from the South to the North and how her perceptions of race and self changed during that time. But the deeper you get into the book the more you realize that what you are reading is a kind of touchstone for other children’s books about the African-American experience in America. Turn to page eight and a reference to the Woodsons connections to Thomas Woodson of Chillicothe leads you directly to Jefferson’s Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. Page 32 and the trip from North to South and the deep and abiding love for the place evokes The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963. Page 259 and the appearance of The Jackson Five and their Afros relates beautifully to Rita Williams-Garcia’s P.S. Be Eleven. Page 297 and a reference to slaves in New York City conjures up Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. Even Jackie’s friend Maria has a story that ties in nicely to Sonia Manzano’s The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano.
School Library Journal
Connections: For some of us, we read about these monumental civil rights activists, but for others, it’s the stories not in the textbooks, but the stories from their family members, people who were directly involved in these historical years of pain, years of fighting, years of strength, years of trying to navigate their lives through the changing spaces and laws and adjusting to discrimination, etc.
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